FunBobby

Darcy - Good on ya for improving on your landings. As for me, with student rigs and mains, I actually did very well landing, but I had a helluva time figuring out my landings when I started jumping other gear. I jumped all sorts of canopies, many borrowed and some demo gear - a raider, several triathlons and sabres, a raven main, and a spectre. For a little while, my landings actually got worse. I was only standing up half the time, and when I fell, I'd get some pretty good scrapes, bumps, and bruises. My accuracy wasn't great either, and a few times, I bullseyed the taxiway, compass rose, and once, even an empty aircraft apron. Nice. The bad thing was that my apprehension about my landings affected me in freefall; I didn't fly as well because I would worry about the eventuality of landing. It was frustrating for a while, and I wasn't sure I wanted to keep jumping if I couldn't figure out how to land. And then, all of the sudden, it just started clicking. Gear for me was really important - I did well under a spectre and better under a triathlon. I jumped a used tri and liked it so much that I bought it. I put several hundred jumps on that canopy. I still have it, as a matter of fact, in my backup rig, though I've ordered a replacement and will be looking to sell the triathlon. Hey - care to try it? FunBobby Edited - dangit, why can't I type right?

I think you mean upload, right? So RU done with AFF yet, Nita? FunBobby

C3 - Command, Control, and Communication Military acronym, but come to think of it, can be used to refer to aspects of relationships too... FunBobby

See attached. FunBobby

US Navy, active duty, Lieutenant Commander (O-4) ; tailhook aviator currently serving in a carrier air wing on the west coast. Fifteen years of service including 4 at USNA. Various assignments all over the country, deployments to the Atlantic, Med, Pacific, and the Gulf. Memories – lots of exhilarating ones, too many to list, but the first carrier landing and subsequent catapult shot have to rank up there with the most vivid. And then there's that December day in 2000 I'll tell you about after a few beers. I also remember times of tremendous sadness, with the tragic and devastating loss of comrades and the effort to comfort their loved ones. The job is demanding but rewarding; I get out of it what I put into it. Even though I’m not holding the reins of the mightiest machines in the air wing, the flying is amazing. What sticks out most in my mind, though, and what stays with me, though, is the people . . . some of the most incredible humans I have ever met. I am honored and humbled to serve alongside some of them and feel unbelievably blessed to know them and their families. God Bless them . . . Bobby Edited for a stinkin' typo.

My screen name is derived from my real name and that of a character on NBC's "Friends" - one of Monica's old boyfriends who everyone called "Fun Bobby." I had been called that in years past in other circles, and then a couple of gals at the DZ started referring to me that way after witnessing my antics on the DZ and out in town. The name just kinda stuck.... Bobby

Congrats to the staff and regulars at Elsinore for a great weekend. Okay, so I was only there Saturday, but kudos to all nonetheless. Plenty o' smiles, good vibes, good beer, and great skydives (all before the beer, of course) made for a great day for me - and everyone else, from what I saw. I didn't take many photos, but here are a few... Heidi Amy Raffle 1 Raffle 2 Congrats, and again, many thanks for a great time. Blue skies - FunBobby

Just about any good drugstore should have a kiosk or machine that can make high quality prints of your photos. I had a Walgreens photo shop do 180 of mine (brought back from an extended trip) and they did it for 20 cents a copy. FunBobby

"More than Words" - Extreme. There are a lot of great songs out there, but I have a pretty good story about this one. One night during my college years, I had some of my friends over at my place for dinner. All of us were musically inclined and sang in various groups at school. Well, I had a crush on this gal at another college, and after dinner and some beer and more drinks, I tipsy dialed her. One of my buds had his guitar, and he and I serenaded her over the phone with that song - "More than Words." Before we started, though, Holly (girl at the other school), said she had to switch phones; she very quickly and quietly put us on several speakerphones in her sorority house. We were a little surprised by the response we got at the end of the song.... FunBobby

Okaaaay, Roger that. Didn't see the original response. B

And oh, by the way, how about keeping responses to or comments about a post in the original thread instead of starting a new thread? There's my 2 cents worth. B

Thank you . . . we at home honor you and your comrades; we think of and pray for all of you and look forward to your return. God Bless. Bobby

??? You mean that's not a crank? (attachment same as earlier) FunBobby

C R A N K Love that name. FunBobby

Yep - aircraft cutaway handle. Too bad I didn't keep it - I didn't know it at the time, but it would get me free beer in any Navy bar. FunBobby

I started flying in June of 1994, started skydiving in April of 1999. I'm have 1900 pilot hours, almost all of them in military aircraft - about 300 arrested landings, too! I also have my civilian commercial license, but I have yet to use that. I hold USPA license D24813 and have about 600 jumps; only one of those was in the military. FunBobby

1. As much rest as possible - no skydiving, running or working out , lots of laying down. 2. Cervical traction with concurrent heat treatment to my neck and back. Regimen had me going 3x week for 30 minutes, 28 lbs static traction. All cases are different, but this seems to be working for me. It also worked for a friend of mine back in FL who had really bad radicular symptoms; he did the traction thing + chiropractic treatments for 3 months and has been doing really well for 4 years now. I tried chiro before P.T. - they didn't help at all. As a matter of fact, treatments were painful, and if anything, it may have made my condition worse. Hope you find something that works. FunBobby

I feel for ya. Years ago, I had a nasty incident that has left me with a degenerated C6-7 disc that is bulging out - badly. All sorts of problems started cropping up when the disc started impacting and compressing the nerve root. It got so bad last summer that I couldn't stand up straight for more than 30 seconds without getting these really awful shooting pains down my arm. The spine surgery team wanted to perform an ADCF - Anterior Diskectomy / Cerebral Fusion. I know a guy who had that done years ago who is a strike fighter pilot and an avid motocross racer. He regularly pulls and sustains up to 8 G's in flight; his back and neck take a pounding on every catapult shot and carrier landing - not to mention on all the jumps on his motorcycle. He's doing fine. As for me, months of rest and physical therapy have gotten me well enough that surgery is not necessary now, though I think it may be inevitable for me in the next 10 years or so. I had to lay off jumping for several months, but I've returned to skydiving and have made about 20 so far with minimal problems. With multiple damaged discs, your case is certainly more delicate and more complicated. Take a look Spine-health.com. There's a lot of good information there. Good luck. There may be hope yet. FunBobby

Easy, there. I've seen the same. But I also know officers who have ardently stood up for their troops and sailors in bad situations, knowing full well that their actions would jeopardize their standings with their superiors, and in some cases, their careers. I've done that. Talk about boosting morale. Bobby

Okay there, bud, hang on a sec.... As you probably can guess, I'm not here to sign up for your organization. I’m not here to dump on it, either. Nor am I here to comment on any of the issues that have been raised in this thread. If I may, though, I'd like to offer a polite and well-meaning observation and a suggestion. Before I get to those, though, lemme say a few other things. Good on you for having well defined political views. Better on you for being well informed than most about the issues on which you base those views. And even better on you for having the fervor to speak up on your opinion. Hell, I enjoy reading your posts from time to time and have even stepped up to joust with you a few times. I don't agree with everything that you write or think, but hey, everyone’s entitled to their opinions - that goes both ways, btw. Like someone said in an earlier post, it makes for juicy threads in the forums. Getting to that observation I promised…. One thing that was a pleasant surprise to me when I first started jumping years ago was how unpolitical the dropzone was - at least in the sense of libertarianism and conservatism. And I’ve found that that’s really kind of the same case at all the dropzones where I’ve jumped. Oh, there are staunch conservatives and liberals alike at all DZs. I jump at Skydive San Diego, and the folks here run the gamut. There are a lot of servicemen out here as the DZ has a huge contract for training military jumpers; also, a whole bunch of guys from the SEAL teams jump out here for fun. Those guys are as conservative as they come. And yes, there are lots and lots of liberals here too. But you know, aside from the military folks, it takes a while to figure out who’s who because when people show up in the morning, they are first and foremost skydivers…. folks who come to the DZ to make jumps, meet other skydivers, and have fun. There’s a great vibe out here and I’d say that in general, folks get along really well, make lots of awesome skydives (and really cool swoops!) and enjoy each other’s company sharing jokes over beers and/or dinner long after sunset. Oh, there are a few - a very few - political debates every now and then in the packing area, but for the most part, people leave their political views at home or wait to bring those out until after the jumpers on the sunset tracking dive have landed. Uniting for a cause is great. I applaud the successes of Mallory Lewis and Kate Cooper and all the jumpers in the “Jump for the Cause” events; I think the Pink Mafia does good work in promoting skydiving among women, as do events like the “Chicks Rock” boogies - truth be told, men are apt to make more skydives at that event as well. Great organizations there and events there. But a political organization for skydivers? Hmmmmmm. That’s different - politics can be very divisive. Might wanna think of that. Okay, I’ve started into that suggestion. Like I said, good on you for wanting to do something with your political views. But consider carefully the course you set if it involves skydiving and your dropzone. If there’s even a chance that it might alienate anyone at a DZ, consider your course even more carefully. The formation of exclusive groups and cliques can kill good vibes and generate resentment really fast at a DZ. There’s one thing that’s quicker, though: dropzone politics. Keep that in mind, too. It seems to me that some of the most well liked jumpers at the dropzones where I’ve jumped are those who have, among other things, left the politics at home or in the forums on this website; I think most skydivers, conservative or liberal, would rather not see the DZ become a political arena or forum. (Anyone? Bueller?) Whatever the wishes are of the skydivers around you, try to be respectful of those. Good luck. Bobby

Or perhaps a reverse half cuban eight instead? Excuse me while I step out on a limb again. I have a hard time believing that the Thunderbirds or Blue Angels would intentionally perform a prohibited maneuver in their routine, especially with the number of airshows they do, the visibility, exposure, and the intense scrutiny they get. Bobby

I drew the diagrams. And as our esteemed aerobatic pilot Mike points out, it was indeed a reverse half cuban eight. FunBobby

Ummmmm......Ok. Hadn't seen the video, trusted what I had read in the press. Can't believe everything you read, but video doesn't lie..... Bobby Not as many aerobatic hours as Mike

And with the buddy store on the left wing, Pointy noses suck our hoses FunBobby

My $.02 - For one thing, they, like all tacair pilots, have ready reference to AGL with their radar altimeters. For another thing, they fly in formation, and that formation periodically breaks and rejoins. They all must have a common reference – the same altimeter MSL setting – to help them get to the same point in the sky. I completely disagree. If a pilot is talking to ATC - even if he isn't, for that matter, he must have the correct altimeter setting to make sure he’s at the right altitude in the sky. VFR and IFR aircraft near terminal areas are separated by a mere 500 feet. Ummm, he was doing a Split S, which is perfectly legal. Very different from a “Reverse Half Cuban Eight” – what is that? (see attached) And if you did one, would you fly away inverted? Bobby Edited to add diagrams